President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Murat Kurum, former Minister of Urban Planning, Environment and Climate Change, as the candidate who will run against Ekrem İmamoğlu, the current mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, in the March 31 local elections. “Our aim is to appear before our nation for
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Jan. 6 in Istanbul as a part of his week-long diplomatic tour amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly in the context of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The high-level meeting attended by Fidan, National Intelligence
The legal proceedings surrounding the imprisonment of Can Atalay, a lawmaker from the Turkish Worker’s Party (TİP), have escalated into an acute crisis within the Turkish higher judiciary. On January 3, the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals once again resisted the Constitutional Court’s directive to release Atalay from prison, accusing it of
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance published Türkiye’s top taxpayers list after 3 years on January 3, revealing that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Türkiye’s drone manufacturer Baykar’s chairman, Selçuk Bayraktar, has been the top taxpayer for three years in a row: 2020, 2021, and 2022. First of all, congratulations to Bayraktar. He became
“Their search continues. But they cannot find candidates to win,” the main opposition Republican People’s Party leader Özgür Özel said, stating that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ruling block, “People’s Alliance,” have not yet announced their candidates for the upcoming local elections, especially for critical cities like Ankara and Istanbul. “My
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on January 3 that 56 suspects under Red Bulletin and Urgent Apprehension warrants by Interpol were captured in Türkiye in a massive police operation in 11 provinces. Yerlikaya said in his “X” message that the wanted people were citizens of the USA, Germany, Azerbaijan, UAE, Belarus, Morocco, Palestine, India,
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said via his “X” account that 29 ISIS members, who were preparing terrorist attacks on churches and synagogues in İstanbul, were captured in simultaneous operations in 9 provinces with the joint work of the Turkish Intelligence Organization (MİT) and General Police Directorate (Emniyet). A few days earlier, on December 21, Yerlikaya
If asked how we remember 2023, we would probably say that we are glad it is behind us. Unfortunately, 2024 doesn’t look any better. But haven’t we also used such expressions for the past years? The years when the world was free from war and conflict are few. Nevertheless, what we call major war have
The judicial tension increased in Türkiye as Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court resisted once again the Constitutional Court’s explicit order for the release of the imprisoned lawmaker, Can Atalay, reiterating its previous decision and sent the file to the Supreme Court of Cassation which previously prompted a judicial crisis in the country. Istanbul 13th High
The Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee approved Sweden’s NATO membership protocol at its meeting on December 26. Once the approval is voted by the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Türkiye will be deemed to have ratified Sweden’s NATO membership. Political sources say that the plenary vote is likely to take place on